The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-06

mighty multitudes as did Bos Americanus TWEEN
ty years ago. Often and often have plainsmen
said to me, in speaking OF former times.
''The whole country was literally black
with buffalo as far as the eye could
See! Every hill was covered and every hollow
was full" There were thousands of square
miles of them, and when big herd was encoun-
tered travelling it seemed actually interminable.
One that knew OF was Eve hours in passing
given point in solid column, ten to twenty
abreast, con a dead run Trains the first
railways built across the plains were sometimes
stopped for hours at time by thousands of buf
falo swarming on the track, and travellers have
gone over a hundred and twenty miles of ter
ritory through an almost unbroken herd. In
all that we have read of the marvellous abund
arce of wild animals the plains of South Gen.
trail Africa, even the most exagcerated& accounts
fall far below what We actually know OF the
presence of the buffalo in the United States.
When the men of the West saw the level
plains of Texas, Kansas. Nebraska and the In
dian Territory and the rolling uplands of Da
kota. Colorado, Wyoming and Montana actually
swarmng with buffalo, they said: There will
aways be plenty of buffalo; it is impossible to
kill them all off," So at them they went. first in
the blind fury Of wanton destructyeness. but
later in the more energetic and deadly warfare
of killing for money No one thought of pro-
tecting the buffalo. and had any one spoken of
it he would have heen called "a crank But
see what the deadly hreech- loader accomplished
in eleven short years
The building of the Union Pacific railroad
from Omaha to Cheyenne in 1867 cut through
the very confer of the great buffalo range, and
from this railway, as a base of supplies and
means of shipment, the buffalo hunters scattered
north and south, killing great numbers. Thus
was the great herd cut in twain, never to be re-
united (save in deathl, and the two portions
were from that time known respectively the
northern and southern herds. The staked plain
of Texas was the geographical center of the great
southern herd. and the town of Glendive, NJ T.,
was the center Of the other In short time the
bNildinp Of AtchiSOu TODpka q
the Kansas Pacific and Northern Pacific rail-
ways enabled the hunters to attack both the
northern and southern herds in front. flank and
rear
Through the destructive facilities afforded by
the Union Pacific road and the two others neaau
est 1t on the south, the great southern herd was
practically botted ont of existence in three
years time viz: 1928 and f. II was in 1870
that the railroads fully 'opened up the buffalo
country and two years later some evil CONNER
cial genius discovered that buffalo robes and
hides merchantable and could be sold in
immense quantities at paving prices.
That sealed the fate of the buffalo. In the
years 1928 and 4. the A. L. & S. r. road car
ried out 459 463 buffalo hides. and Colonel Dodge
considers it quite certain that its two rivals each
carried an equal, if not greater number, making
a grand total of 1.37S, 1853 hides.
But Colonel Dodge declares that up to 1873 so
wasteful we're the methods of the hide hunters
that hide delivered represented three buffalo
killed. From 1874 onward the hunters took more
so that every 100 marketed represented only l25
dead buffalos. Taking the lowest estimate for
the three years. 1928 and 4, based on the hides
actually shipped it is found that the total num-
her of buffalos killed by the hide hunters was
3,l56, $50. TO this number must be added the
buffalo killed by the Indians during the same
period. This number was about 2l5, 00O
making. when added to the white hunters
record grand total Of 1873 730 buffalo killed in
the Southwest in three years The remnant of
the southern herd fled to that great barren
waste known the Staked Plain, and thither a
few hide -hunters followed them until as late as
1880. when their number had so decreased that
hunting them for profit ceased entirely. 1t is
really saddeniug to know that these noble ami
mails were slaughtered by wholesale for their
hides when those from the bulls sold Tin 1879
for only 81. 10, while cow robes worth only
paltry pittaDce of SO cents each.
In 1876 the northern herd was probably twenty
times as large as the southern. and covered
twenty times as much territory. 1t was esti-
mated by the hunters and hide buyers that there
were then over 900 900 buffalo within radius Of
$50 miles of Miles City. NJ T., alone, and that.
all told. the northern herd contained over mill
ion head.
The Northern Pacific railway was opened
| for traffic from Glendive eastward in 1881.
am told by the hide-buycrs that that year it car
| ried l60. 900 buffalo hides out of the country,
and equal number the year following. The
number shipped by steamers on the Missouri
| river is at present unknown. In 1888 the nun
her Of hides shipped fell to %. 900, and the catch
| CT tho next season amounted to but one car load
| of hides, which were shipped from Dickinson,
| d. T., by J. n. Davis. In 1885 not nge hide
was in the market and the buyers announced
| that the end had come.
1t was then, the years 1881 50 and 1888
| which saw the complete destruction of the great
Northern herd, about ten years after the
| Southern herd went down, and the thoroug hness
! of its determination talm ostl is perfectly sur
| prising To-day, what remains of the millions
| of twenty years ago? Two or three little bands
| of trembling, terror stricken fueitives. vainly
endeavoring to find shelter from blood thirsty
4 man in the widest and most desolate country,
/ pursued hither and thIther. and shot at by every
| cowboy whose glance falls upon them and to
| be pursued with increasing vIgor and reckless
ness until the last one falls. Yes. there are
other remains. tens of thousands of decayine
| carcasses and bleaching skeletons, thousands OF
| them with the hide still on, showing that they
were killed for their tongues only, or by foreign
| and native ''sportsmen Tor sport"
| AS result of careful investigation | am con
WINGED that there are now not more than 2o(
| buffalo alive IN country, outside of the Vel
| lowstone Park. OF this number there are as
| before stated. about 100 or less in tho Pan-han
| die Of Texas, there about 80 more in the
| country where our collecting was DONE and per
| haps 70 more in the neghborhood Of the Bear
| Paw Mountains, Montana. Strange it may
seem. there are still half dozen head in South
west Dakota, and | am told there are a few
stragg ling bison in the Ciarks Fork region, n ea
| the National Park In the latter reserva tiol
there are between 100 and 125 head. and the,
| are increasing at the rate of 10 per cent. an
nually. On all sides, however, the unprotected
buffalo are being crowded out of existence b,
the cattle-raisers, and i'll two years more tho.
| will all be gone.
Thus has gone the great American bison, an,
let mo tell you our elk, our deer, our antelop
and mountain sheep are all fast going the sam
way! Shall we enact laws for their protection
which will protect, now, before it is too late, o
shall we dilly- daily about il did with tn
buffalol The necessity and desirabihty of pro
tecting the remnant of our game is conceded b.
all, save the market hunters, but in providn
the necessary protection we are feeble and wit
less Our protection doesn't always protec,